Customers of Marks & Spencer’s Essay Example
Customers of Marks & Spencer’s Essay Example

Customers of Marks & Spencer’s Essay Example

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  • Pages: 20 (5374 words)
  • Published: November 3, 2018
  • Type: Case Study
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External customers are M ; S's biggest maker of profit, as they are the biggest buyer of their products. M ; S offer more than just a regular store in order to be successful. These are things such as special occasion's products; they offer foreign currency and a credit card. They categorise their external customers into, socio - economic groups, Families, OAP's and Business customers.

M ; S offer perks to their customers these include cash back, this is good if there are not any or very few cash machines around you can still get this cash.They offer security to their customers by using CCTV, this makes the customers feel safer while shopping. Heating and air conditioning are used sometimes to persuade customers for example if the weather is really cold outside the heating will make them wan

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t to come inside. Mystery shoppers are used to test/grade the stores this is used to identify weak/poor staff and see were improvements need to be made. These results are place on a notice board.

If customers have any problems or queries they are able to go to a customer service desk, this avoids any waiting in queues, to then be directed to the right desk.It also saves the queue times for others paying customers. Families Families consist of parents with one or more children aged between 0 and 16 years. The products which tend to be bought by families include; food, electronics and clothing. The most likely items of clothing for a family to buy from Marks and Spencer would be school uniform, as it's well known for the high quality, durability, long lasting and affordable brands covering al

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of Marks and Spencer's clothing range.Not only do families want and expect high quality, long lasting products, but a comfortable and hassle free way to shop.

Marks and Spencer meets these needs from customers by offering shopping trolleys with specially designed seats for younger children, or adapted spaces for the younger children's car seats. Adequate toilets equipped with changing facilities for babies in almost all stores, which are constantly monitored and kept well maintained, cleaned and dependable to all users. Socio - economic groupsPeople will still buy products regardless of what brand it is, this is because Marks and Spencer's adapt their products to suit the different income ranges and therefore would expect that Marks and Spencer provide a range from low priced goods right up to high priced goods. The different types of food budgets include Marks and Spencer 'wise buy' products which are low budget product. Even though these 'wise buy' products are a low budget product, they are still made to a high quality standard and would still be very nutritious and appealing. The higher priced products would include their finest range.

This would still be a healthy option but, a more expensive option. Marks and Spencer also produce their clothing range with different Socio-economic groups in mind. This collection would include the 'Per Una and Blue Harbour' which is the lower budget choice of clothing. However, this is the lower priced clothing but still to outstanding, durable quality and will have lifelong. The more expensive Marks and Spencer clothing range would be 'Autograph' which is part of both the male and female ranges, and are made to the same standards as all there

other ranges just higher priced, and packaged differently.

OAP's Elderly people would expect that the majority Marks and Spencer stores have the same or a similar layouts, this would mean that when they enter the store they are greeted by the similar isles. This would benefit the elderly people in navigating their way around a store in a more efficient way, without getting irritated when they are unable to find a product in which they wish for. Marks and Spencer also has numerous signposts in a variety of locations throughout the store such as; toilets, cafe, checkouts, customer service desk etc. are all clearly noticeable.An additional expectation for the elderly customers who shop at Marks and Spencer would be that they would imagine everything would be positioned on one level, otherwise if this is not possible they expect a range of methods to navigate through the floors, this would include a lift, escalator or stairs as all possible options. Marks and Spencer also please elderly people by keeping their slightly older clothing range separate from the new, more fashionable clothing range.

They also base their slightly older range in the same place in each and every store.Business Business customers would expect to purchase items in which they can use within their own business, for example these items would include; food for a cafi?? or items for an office. They also would expect that the items in which they purchase can be delivered as they may purchase larger items which would include furniture for a new bar for example. Factors which affect both internal and external customers needs There are a number of different factors in which affect

customers needs both internally and externally.

I have researched into these different needs for both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer. Disneyland I have identified family status as my first factor in which affects customers both internally and externally. This need would affect Disneyland's internal customers as with families, they may require flexi-time which would enable them to attend to their families when needed and make up the time when they are not needed. This would be important as if they couldn't attend to their families they may choose to work somewhere in which they can be granted flexi-time.They may also need transport to and from Disneyland if they live close, but not in walking distance of the Resort.

This first need would affect Disneyland's external customers as they would expect there be different packages for them, depending on income or the age of the family's children. In order to suit this need, the customers would expect Disney provide various deals, including; special offers, discounts or family tickets. I have researched into some of these different packages in which Disney provide, these include: Save up to 30% off your hotel, park tickets and now even transport with selected partners

For arrivals from 9th January 2011 to 7th November 2011 on a minimum stay of 2 night/3 days this package includes:

  • Accommodation
  • Tickets to both Disney Parks each day
  • Breakfast in your selected hotel
  • AND 30% off transport with either Eurostar, Flybe or P;O Ferries

This package is most likely to benefit people of the lowest income who want to visit the Disneyland resort, as it offers a large discount off the total cost of the visit as long as they

visit between the selected times which are usually off peak. Another deal Disney is offering is: Kids under 12 stay and play for FREE For arrivals starting 1st January through to 5th April 2011.

This type of deal/offer would suit those families with slightly older children, and are looking for a quick, last minute deal. This would attract those customers who may have little disposable income and want a quick get-away. By Disney having these different offers available to customers it would help to boost sales therefore revenue for Disney as it is enabling customer from all socio-economic groups and family sizes are able to receive some form of discount or offer therefore visit the resort.This is offering good customer service by opening the offers to a variety of potential customers thus increasing the customer satisfaction received.

Disney has similar deals and offers available on a regular bases, drumming up potential for repeat and loyal customers. Another need in which family status would depend on would be that Disney has provided a range of facilities. These facilities would include, baby changing, toilets, rooms/accommodation. These various different types of facilities would be vital for Disneyland's customers with younger children and must be kept to a high standard at all times.Families visiting the Disneyland Resort in Paris would need Disney to provide a range of different food establishments in both the hotel and parks at different budgets. For example, the McDonalds in Disney would be a low budget restaurant in which may appeal to children as it is a common restaurant throughout Europe.

On the other hand, there is Planet Hollywood, which is a high budget, upper class restaurant in

which would appeal to business customers or adults. Lastly, customers visiting Disneyland would expect that there was a variation in rides, including high-thrill rides and rides for the children.This would be important for families as they may wish to take younger children who may enjoy a ride such as 'It's A Small World', however, they may take teenagers who would enjoy rides such as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I have identified individuals as my second factor in which affects customers both internally and externally. Individuals would include either business trips in which people would need to travel alone or adults who may wish to stay on their own.

This second need would affect these customers as they would need various different things in order for a satisfied stay in the Disneyland Resort.The first thing would include that Disney provide single rooms for these individuals to stay in. This would be important as they would not wish to pay for a room for two people at extra cost if it was only themselves staying in the room. Individuals would also expect that Disney provide restaurants in which include tables for one in order for them to eat alone. The final factor I have identified as a factor in which affects customers both internally and externally is couples. The needs of couples would include tables for two in the various restaurants located around the Disneyland Resort.

This would be important as if the couples could not sit together and had to sit with people they don't know, they would have low customer satisfaction which in turn could lead to bad word of mouth for Disneyland. Another need

for couples would be that they expect to be more than one seat on a ride so that couples could sit together or at least be on the same ride together. If this was not the case they may get frustrated and have low customer satisfaction. Couples would also expect that Disney provides doubles bed in specific accommodations.Finally, couples visiting Disney may wish to be placed in a hotel with a little amount of children or no children staying in the hotel.

This would be because they want a peaceful get-away or they have decided to visit Disney in order to get away from their own children, this therefore would have to be catered for. Marks and Spencer Similar to Disney, I have identified family status as my first factor in which affects customers both internally and externally. This need would affect Marks and Spencer's internal customers as with families; they would require different working hours.For example, employees with older children may want extra money and would therefore require overtime from Marks and Spencer in order to gain this money. On the other hand, employees with younger children may request flexi-time.

In order to meet this need, Marks and Spencer give their employees a total of 20 hours a week to work in which they can decide when they want to work this 20 hours throughout the week. This would benefit their internal customers as they would be able to work when their children are in nursery and leave to pick them up from nursery.This first need would affect Marks and Spencer's external customers as families would have different income and therefore would expect a range of

different budget foods or clothing. The different types of food budgets include Marks and Spencer 'Ready Meals' which are a low budget product. Even though the 'Ready Meals' are a low budget product, they would still be very nutritious and appealing.

The higher priced products would include a bag of grapes. This would be a very healthy option and yet a more expensive option.Families would also wish to purchase different types of food; including food for babies, small children, teenagers, adults and various ingredients in order to make their own food. Whereas the different clothing ranges would include the 'outstanding value' which is the lower budget range of clothes. However, this range is low priced it is still excellent quality and would be long lasting.

The more expensive Marks and Spencer clothing range would include 'Autograph' for men and 'Per Una'. Families would find it essential to purchase different clothing ranges, including; adults and children's clothing of all ages.In Marks and Spencer, teenagers clothing ranges are less thought of and would usually finish at 13 years old as they would be much less likely to purchase clothes from Marks and Spencer. I have identified individuals as my second factor in which affects customers both internally and externally. These individual customers would be affected as they may need to purchase cheaper clothing ranges as appose to the more expensive brands in Marks and Spencer, therefore, having the 'outstanding value' range would appeal to this need.Individual customers would also expect that Marks and Spencer provide food in which are portioned to individuals.

This would be an important need for individuals as they would not want to waste food if they

were forced into purchasing meals for two people or more. The last need individual customers of Marks and Spencer would expect is smaller trolleys. As they are only shopping for themselves, they may not wish to fill a whole large trolley and would therefore expect a smaller size. The final factor I have identified as a factor in which affects customers both internally and externally is couples.Marks and Spencer would be expected to provide clothing ranges in which appeal to both men and women.

They have met this expectation by providing their 'Autograph' range for men and 'Per Una' range for women. Couples would also expect that there be set meals for them to purchase, in order to meet this aim Marks and Spencer have created the offer 'two dine for only i?? 10 (two courses + wine inc)'. This would help to entice couples to shop at Marks and Spencer for their excellent offers and prices on food.Couples who maybe homeowners or own a flat would expect that a 'Home' section be located somewhere in the store. In most Marks and Spencer's across the UK, there is in fact a 'Home' section already located in store; this range provides a number of products ranging from sofas to beds and wallpaper to paint.

Age I have identified different age ranges of customers whom would visit both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer and placed them into different groups; these groups include people aged between; 0-2 years old, 3-5 years old, 6-12 years old and teenagers.Disneyland hotels in which would be suitable for young children located in these age bands would include Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch, Disney's Hotel Santa

Fe or Disney's Hotel Cheyenne. I have sectioned people into different age bands as they would also expect and need different things from both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer. Disneyland The first age band in which I identified for Disneyland covered children aged between 0-2 years old.

This age band would need and expect that there be a number of baby change facilities throughout the park in which a retained to a certain cleanliness and quality.It would be important that Disneyland retain these facilities to a high standard and cleanliness as customers would not bring their children to Disney if they had nowhere in which to change their children, therefore Disney would lose customer and in turn revenue if this high standard wasn't retained. Customers with children of this age band would also expect that their be a number of rides in which are suitable to such a young age; these rides would need to be slow and gentle rides which young children would enjoy, an example of this would be the teacups.Disney also provide customers with children of this age band with a baby sitting service (cri?? che) in which children will be looked after if their parents want to day to relax and experience some high thrill rides which aren't appropriate for children of such a young age.

Disney provide a range of highchairs in the different restaurants located throughout the park in which would be suitable for children situated in the 0-2 years old age band. The second age band in which I have identified for Disneyland would cover children aged between 3-5 years old.Once again customers with children of this age band would

require slow, gentle rides such as the teacups in which would be suitable for their children. They would also expect that highchairs be provided in the numerous restaurants located throughout the park in order for their children to sit at the table with their parents.

As children in this age band are slightly older they would be able to sit in a travel cot as a means of easy transport for their parents in case the get tired and fall asleep, therefore it's important that Disney provide a travel cot for their customers.As children of this age would tend to work off and be overwhelmed by the action on going throughout the park they may get separated from their parents and lost in the park. As a means to contact children who are lost in the park, parents would expect that Disney have a tannoy system throughout the park. Children of this young age should be kept separate from alcohol and pubs; therefore, Disney allocates areas of the park (Sports Bar and Hurricane Night Club) as the only places alcohol can be bought and consumed.

Children under the age of 21 aren't allowed to enter these allocated places.The next age band I have identified for Disneyland covers children aged between 6-12 years old. Children situated in this age band would expect that Disney provide them with a number of thrill rides in order to keep them entertained; these thrill rides would include: Crush's Coaster, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster - Aerosmith, etc. They would also require night time entertainment; this would include Disney's own ice rink and Disney's village with numerous shopping facilities

situated inside the Disney resort.The final age band I have identified for Disneyland covers teenagers. Again this age band would require high speed, thrill rides in order to keep them entertained.

These rides would include the likes of Crush's Coaster, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster - Aerosmith, etc. Teenagers of an appropriate age would expect pubs and clubs be situated in the Disney resort; Disney have allocated the Sports Bar and Hurricane Night Club as places in which alcohol can be served, however, as they need to comply with all worldwide laws, the drinking age is 21 throughout the park (American Law).The village also provides teenagers with a place to shop and purchase things such as sweet, presents or souvenirs. Marks and Spencer The first age band in which I identified for Marks and Spencer covered children aged between 0-2 years old. This age band would need and expect that a verity of baby items were on sale in store. These items would include products such as baby food, baby clothing and toys.

All these products must be suitable to children situated in this age band and must contain no small parts in which children could easily choke on. All these products must be hard wearing and of a high quality.Children of this age who would be shopping with their parents would be hard to manage as well as a trolley, therefore, Marks and Spencer offer trolleys with seats or a place for the child's car seat in order to easily manage their children and still concentrate of the shopping. Marks and Spencer also offer their customers with children situated in this age

band with clean/high standard baby change facilities which are retained regularly.

The second age band in which I have identified for Marks and Spencer would cover children aged between 3-5 years old.The first expectation of parents with children situated in this age band would be that breakable items are placed higher up on the selves as children of this age tend to pick things up and throw them in the trolley or on the floor. If breakable goods weren't placed high up on shelves children could smash these products and cause injury to themselves or other people in the store. Also the edges of shelves can be sharp and could potentially cause injury to young children who may fall into these edges, therefore, Marks and Spencer put protective casing over these sharp edges and corners.

Similar to customer's needs and wants of Disneyland, children in this age band have a tendency to wander off and may get separated from their parents, as a result of this, Marks and Spencer have a tannoy system throughout the store to easily locate lost or missing children. Children of this age may have a tendency to roll or play on the floor, consequently, if the floor was dirty children could pick up illnesses from this and blame Marks and Spencer which could result in bad press and in turn a negative effect on Marks and Spencer's image.Marks and Spencer also prove an excellent customer support system in which parents of this age band may require. The next age band I have identified for Marks and Spencer covers children aged between 6-12 years old.

Children of this age band would require healthy options

such as salads or fruits therefore Marks and Spencer cater to these needs and provide both fresh fruit and salads. Children situated in this age band would also want snacks during meals or packed lunches for school; consequently, they would want cakes or ready made sandwiches for these lunches.The final age band I have identified for Marks and Spencer covers teenagers. Teenagers generally wouldn't shop in Marks and Spencer and this has been identified by Marks and Spencer.

As a result of this they generally don't provide teenagers with much options for buying foods, however, teenagers would expect that Marks and Spencer provide them with a number of snacks or meal deals for their lunch as a means of a quick, easy and cheap lunch. Personality, Interests and LifestyleI have identified that interests, lifestyle and personality are factors in which will affect the level of customer service which needs to be provided to customers who visit both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer. Firstly, I have identified that within both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer's there will be customers who will have different personalities and may act in different ways, some of these ways include; being shy, aggressive, outspoken, picky, etc.As there are these different personalities, employees must quickly recognise which personality they are dealing with and change the way they act towards this customer. For example, if a customer had an outspoken, aggressive personality they must be treated and talked to in a calmer manner in order to try calm them down and get them to speak rationally, whereas if the customer had a more picky personality both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer must cater for

this and provide a wide selection of products/services.Another factor in which would affect the level of customer service required would include interests, I have identified that different interests would affect the level of customer service expected and required, for example; customers of Marks and Spencer's who may be interested in electronics would be more bothered about the service they receive whilst browsing the electronics section of Marks and Spencer, on the other hand, customers of Disneyland may have an interest about theme parks and would expect and require high levels of customer service when riding these rides.

Employee's and cast members must be trained in order to deal with these expectations and requirements of the customer and this would lead to an increased level of customer service and in turn may lead to repeat custom for either Disneyland or Marks and Spencer. This increase in both customer service and repeat custom would lead to an increase in sales as good word of mouth would be spread about the excellent service received. Lastly, lifestyle would be a factor in which affects the level of customer service which is required.I have identified that customers of Disneyland who are of a younger age would require their favourite characters to be friendly with them, sign autographs and be in pictures with them. If this was achieved the younger customers of Disneyland would be extremely happy and would beg their parents to take them back to the Disneyland resort which would lead to repeat custom and increase sales and revenue.

Late teenagers have also been identified as a group of people who would expect different levels of customer service.This would be the

case as they would expect an exhilarating night life, therefore, to meet this expectation, Disneyland provide late teenagers with places in which they can consume alcohol, these would include both the Sports Bar and the Hurricane Night Club. People whom have an interest in sports would also require different services, in order to cater for this, Disneyland offer hotels which are situated near golf courses, have swimming pools, gyms and the Sports Bar which is located in the Disney Village.On the other hand, customers of Marks and Spencer would expect different levels of customer service.

For example; young couples who may have recently bought a house/flat would expect there be furniture and home items available to them, whereas families who shop at Marks and Spencer may wish to purchase uniform or other equipment for school. Gender, Disability and Culture ; Language I have identified gender, disability and culture ; language as different groups of people who would both visit Disneyland and Marks and Spencer.These groups of people would require specialised help or features in order to satisfy their needs and expectations. These needs and expectations for both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer would include: Disneyland Firstly, depending on gender Disneyland's customers would want and expect different things throughout their stay at the Disney resort. Females visiting the resort would expect a certain level of cleanliness throughout the entire park, from clean toilets kept up to a high standard to no rubbish around the park.

In order to meet this expectation Disney provides a number of bins located around the park where rubbish can be easily disposed of and clean toilets regularly. Females visiting the park also would

expect that there be a number of shopping facilities located in the resort or near the resort. Located just one train stop from the Disneyland resort is the Val D Europe shopping centre (left) which provides customers with all shopping needs from low budget clothing ranges to designer clothing ranges.This will be a great incentive for females to take their children to the Disneyland resort, while they enjoy the rides, the mothers can visit this amazing shopping centre. Females visiting the Disney resort would expect that there are a wide variety of restaurants are made available to them in which offer a wide choice of different foods and budgets.

Some examples of restaurants in which Disneyland offer would include: Plant Hollywood in which is a formal, high quality and priced restaurant or the slightly cheaper, lower quality restaurant, McDonalds.On the other hand, males would expect that Disneyland provide them with a bar or somewhere in which they can relax and enjoy a pint of beer. To meet this expectation, Disney has provided their male customers with the Sports Bar in which alcohol will be served and general sports can be watched. There is also the Hurricane Night Club, which is an alternative place in which males can drink and enjoy themselves.

Secondly, I have identified that people who are disabled visiting Disneyland resort would want and expect different things throughout their stay.An example of the wants and expectations from disabled customers would include that there be a series of ramps and chair lifts throughout the resort in order to navigate stairs or steep hills. An example of how Disneyland overcomes the problem of navigating stairs for disabled

customers is shown to the right. Disabled customers would also require specially designed rooms in order to cater for their needs, examples of how a disabled specific room would differ from a normal room would include; wider doors for wheelchair access, larger room space, handle's situated around the room, etc.Disabled customers would also expect that some rides be made available to them so they can enjoy the full Disney experience, an example of a ride which caters for this need would include Disney's 'The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror'. Disabled parking at Disneyland would also be a necessity, this would be the case as disabled customers who may wish to visit the resort may not be able to walk large distances or may be wheelchair users; if this is the case they should be situated as close to the resort as possible by the means of disabled parking (left).

Lastly, as Disneyland currently employ a total of 285 disabled people, they can fully understand the needs of the customer and cater around these needs to provide a top quality experience for their customers. Finally, depending on culture and language Disneyland's customers would want and expect different things throughout their stay at the Disney resort. As Disney is situated in Paris it is at the heart of Europe and is a gateway for many different cultures and languages to pass through.As there will be a variation of external customers who speak different languages, they must be able to communicate with staff at the Disney resort. In order to meet this requirement Disneyland employ a range of internal customer of whom can speak a variety of different languages

and are from different cultures.

In order to overcome this language barrier, the Disney signposts located around the park and maps available are all bilingual and make use of universal symbols; to the right is an example of a signpost located at Disneyland to show the use of universal symbols.This will be useful for both Disneyland and the external customers as it will enable them to communicate with cast members and locate various places even if they cannot read the language presented. People from different cultures may also require different types of food from various restaurants located around the resort; examples of different cultures which require specially made food would include Jewish - Kosher, Muslim - Halal Meat, etc. It would be essential that Disneyland meet this requirement as if not, certain cultures would not be able to visit the resort and in turn Disneyland would lose both sales and revenue.Marks and Spencer Firstly, depending on gender Marks and Spencer customers would want and expect different things throughout their visit to Marks and Spencer.

Females visiting Marks and Spencer would expect to purchase low fat foods in which would be very beneficial and healthy for them, whereas men shopping at Marks and Spencer would be more likely to purchase different products from women and wouldn't be as conscious about healthy foods.The different products men may purchase different from women would include different clothing ranges; Per Una for women and Autograph for men or for example different magazines; Hello! magazine for women, Nuts magazine for men. The last point I have identified as a factor in which would require specialised features in order to satisfy both males and

females needs and expectations whilst visiting Marks and Spencer would include that there be different changing rooms and toilets for both males and females throughout the Marks and Spencer stores and that these facilities are kept apart from each other.

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